Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Sint Maarten

Articles 3(2), 10 and 16 of the Convention. Human resources of the labour inspectorate and additional duties entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the new labour inspectorate is still understaffed, but that efforts are being made for the recruitment of additional staff. According to the Government’s indications, the labour inspectorate encompasses seven approved labour inspection posts, including one head labour inspector, two labour inspectors and four labour controllers. The Chief Labour Inspector position and one labour inspector position are still vacant.

The Committee also notes that labour inspectors are entrusted with the supervision of compliance with legislation and regulations governing the employment of immigrants, and that most violations detected in 2013 related to irregular employment. In this regard, the Committee would like to refer to paragraph 78 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, which states that the primary duty of labour inspectors is to enforce the provisions on conditions of work and the protection of workers and not to enforce immigration law, and the function of verifying the legality of employment should have as its corollary the reinstatement of the statutory rights of all workers if it is to be compatible with the objective of labour inspection. Efforts to control the use of migrant workers in an irregular situation require the mobilization of considerable resources in terms of staff, time and material resources, which inspectorates can only provide to the detriment of their primary duties. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged for the filling of the vacant labour inspection posts. It further asks the Government to provide details on the nature and scope of the activities carried out by the labour inspectorate in relation to the control of the employment of foreigners, including information on the violations detected and the legal provisions concerned, as well as the legal proceedings initiated, remedies applied and sanctions imposed.

Article 6. Status and conditions of service of labour inspectors. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided the requested information on the status and conditions of service of labour inspectors. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to provide information on the status of labour inspectors and to communicate any legal texts ensuring their stability of employment and independence of changes of government and improper external influences. The Committee also once again asks the Government to specify the scale of remuneration of labour inspectors by comparison to the remuneration of comparable categories of public officers such as tax inspectors.

Article 7. Training of labour inspectors. The Committee notes the Government’s information on the training provided to labour inspectors, as well as on the request made to the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour for additional training and technical support. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the training provided to labour inspectors (including on the subjects covered, and the duration and participants of such training).

Article 14. Reporting of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease to the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that even though employers are legally required to notify the labour inspectorate of occupational accidents, no such cases were officially reported in 2013. It notes the Government’s indications that the labour inspectorate plans to conduct meetings to raise awareness among key stakeholders about the importance of notifying occupational accidents to the labour inspectorate. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to improve the notification to the labour inspectorate of industrial accidents, as well as the impact of these measures. Please also describe the mechanisms in place for the reporting of cases of occupational disease.

Articles 20 and 21. Publication and communication to the ILO of annual reports on the work of the labour inspection services. The Committee notes that an annual report on the work of the labour inspection services has not been received. However, it notes the statistical information in the Government’s report on the number of labour inspections in 2013 (disaggregated by sector), the number of cases in which non-compliance with the legal provisions was detected, and the number of cases in which corrective measures were taken. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to fulfil its obligations under the abovementioned Articles, in view of the Government’s indications that a Labour Market Information System was introduced in the third quarter of 2013, and that it contains labour inspection data collected on the basis of standard inspection checklists during inspection visits. In light of this information, the Committee hopes that annual labour inspection reports will soon be published and communicated to the ILO in accordance with the requirements of Article 20, and that they will contain information on all the subjects contained in Article 21(a)–(g).

In addition, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken, in law and in practice, to give effect to Articles 12, 13, 17 and 18 of the Convention, and to communicate copies of any relevant texts.